Cuff aligning device



' March 17, 1970 R. E. BOYD 3,501,069

CUFF ALIGNING DEVICE Filed June 15, 1967 INVENTOR. ROBERT E. BOYD ATTORNEYS 3,501,069 CUFF ALIGNING DEVICE Robert E. Boyd, 303 S. Plumas, Willows, Calif.

Filed June 15, 1967, Ser. No. 646,362 Int. Cl. A41h 43/00; A41b 7/00 US. Cl. 223-2 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to laundry equipment and, more particularly, to a device for aligning the buttonholes in shirt cuffs for creasing the edge of the cuff.

One of the most common problems associated with the wearing of shirts having French cuffs is the difficulty of folding the cuffs with the buttonholes in alignment. A further problem is that the crease in the cuff, when finally made, is rarely smooth and sharp. Even when French cuffs are prefolded at a commercial laundry, the results are less than satisfactory since, often as not, the fold is not properly made with the result that the cuff-link holes are not in alignment.

The present invention is designed to be used not only by the shirt wearer or his spouse in folding and creasing French cuffs, but also by commercial laund ries to speed the prefolding operation and to yield a neat, properly aligned, folded cuff. The present invention is also designed to permit a person with little dexterity to quickly and easily align the cuff-link holes in a French cuff and fold and crease the cuff before putting on the shirt.

The preferred embodiment of the invention comprises an arcuate resilient holding member, preferably made of spring steel and having a finger at either end adapted to be inserted in the buttonholes of the shirt cuff in order to hold the cuff material under tension and permit the matching holes to be folded over and the cuff creased.

The preferred embodiment may also be provided, optionally, with a base member into which the fingers of the arcuate holding member may be inserted. The base allows the shirt cuff to be creased by the use of an iron or similar device.

It is contemplated that the holding member be useable separately from the base, that is, that the holding member may be packed in a suitcase to go along with the other traveling equipment and be available for use anywhere.

In the drawing: FIG. 1 is a plan view of the folding device showing the holding member mounted in the base. FIG. 2 is a front view of the device and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the holding member with its fingers inserted in the shirt cuff holes.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in each of the several views, the device comprises a holding member 10, which may be mounted in a base 12. The holding member is provided with upright fingers 16 at its extremities. These fingers 16 are slidably received within the slots 14 of the base 12. The slots 14 are further provided with enlarged apertures 15 into which the fingers are initially received and which serve to permit a key-shaped finger to be retained in the slot.

The base 12 comprises a face plate 18 mounted on a frame 20. The frame is provided with apertures 22 which United States Patent 0 permit flexing of the holding member when the fingers 16 are inserted in the buttonholes of a cuff.

The use of the device is quite simple. The holding member 10 is made of spring steel or other resilient material. The fingers 16 at the extremities of the holding member are inserted within the slots 14. The fingers extend through the face plate 18 as is shown in FIG. 2.

A cuff to be aligned and folded is secured and one buttonhole placed over a finger 16 and the other finger 1-6 moved to align it with the opposite buttonhole on the cuff. The normal position of the holding member 10 is indicated at A in FIG. 1. Movement of either one of the fingers 16 to compress the holding member causes the holding member to assume the position at B. Since the holding member 10 is made of resilient material, the second finger, when inserted in the opposite buttonhole and released will hold the cloth under tension. The opposite flap of the cuff is then folded over the upright fingers 16 so that the folded cuff is therefore held under spring tension. By use of this device, it is a simple matter to crease the outer edge 24 of the cuff evenly and to retain the buttonholes in perfect alignment.

As may be seen in FIG. 3, the identical steps may be followed in aligning the cuff buttonholes and in creasing the cuff when the holding member 10 is used by itself.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for holding the buttonholes in French cuffs in alignment while the edge of the cuff is being creased comprising: posts for insertion in the French cuff buttonholes, spring means for moving the posts apart to hold the cuff material in tension, said spring means comprising an arcuate flexible arm, said posts mounted on the opposite ends of said arcuate flexible arm, and a base member adapted to receive the posts and confine the flexible arm to movement in one plane, said base provided with elongate slots within which said posts may move, said slots having their elongate axes aligned.

2. Apparatus for holding shirt cuffs in alignment comprising: a substantially arcuate resilient holding member having a finger at each end thereof extended substantially vertically from the plane of the arc of said arcuate member, said holding member receivable in a base member; said base member comprising a face plate having spaced apart, elongate slots therein, the slots extended along a line in the face of the plate; and a frame upon which the face plate is mounted, said frame extending around the periphery of the under surface of the face plate and having at least two openings therein to permit mounting the holding member fingers in the face plate slots with the arcuate portion thereof passing through the frame openings.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,302,356 4/1919 Froney 2-123 X 2,198,740 4/1940 Redman 29-225 X 2,898,741 8/ 1959 Milliken 29-225 X 1,619,939 3/ 19'27 Kaplan et a1 223-2 2,879,926 3/1959 Newton 223-2 1,831,205 11/1931 Steele 223-61 X 2,912,147 11/1959 Jolissaint 223-1 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 2-123 

